A large crowd watches the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

A large crowd watches the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Photo: Michelle Gachet, The Chronicle

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A large crowd watches the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

A large crowd watches the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Photo: Michelle Gachet, The Chronicle

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Maria Gautheir (left) waves to the planes at the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Maria Gautheir (left) waves to the planes at the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Photo: Michelle Gachet, The Chronicle

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A large crowd watches the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

A large crowd watches the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Photo: Michelle Gachet, The Chronicle

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Mike Holtshouse (left to right), Brannan Schell and Colby McGavin watch the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Mike Holtshouse (left to right), Brannan Schell and Colby McGavin watch the air show at Crissy Field in San Francisco on Saturday.

Photo: Michelle Gachet, The Chronicle

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A spectator watches the air show as part of Fleet Week in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010.

A spectator watches the air show as part of Fleet Week in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010.

Photo: Kirsten Aguilar, The Chronicle

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A large inflatable marine attracts strollers to a Marine recruiting station near Pier 39 during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

A large inflatable marine attracts strollers to a Marine recruiting station near Pier 39 during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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Members of the Patriot Jet Team draw a heart in smoke during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Members of the Patriot Jet Team draw a heart in smoke during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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Members of the Patriot Jet Team pass the Golden Gate Bridge during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Members of the Patriot Jet Team pass the Golden Gate Bridge during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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Carlos Ortiz and his son Enrique Ortiz, 3, dress in camouflage as they head towards Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Carlos Ortiz and his son Enrique Ortiz, 3, dress in camouflage as they head towards Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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The Blue Angels pass the Golden Gate Bridge during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

The Blue Angels pass the Golden Gate Bridge during Fleet Week celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, in San Francisco.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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Farmless - 4:51 p.m. - San Francisco, Calif.
I was walking to Pier 39 for an assignment when I passed by these two comrades. The man said he has had the chicken since she was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
Camera settings: Canon 1D MkII N, ISO 250, 1/500, f3.5, 42mm less

Farmless - 4:51 p.m. - San Francisco, Calif.
I was walking to Pier 39 for an assignment when I passed by these two comrades. The man said he has had the chicken since she was small enough to fit in the palm ... more

Photo: Kirsten Aguilar, The Chronicle

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Fleet Week aims high above San Francisco Bay

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Standing on the flight deck of the vast Naval flagship Makin Island, John Perkins had a postcard view of the Bay Bridge rising from the blue water on a perfect Saturday.

"Impressive," he said. His eyes were not on the bridge, but on the CH-53 helicopter to his left, a machine capable of hoisting into the air a 7,000-pound M777 Howitzer, about the weight of a bull elephant.

Perkins, a commercial real estate broker, was among hundreds of visitors who came to see the Navy's 884-foot amphibious assault ship at Piers 30-32 before heading to the air show in the Marina, all part of Fleet Week in San Francisco.

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Also offering free tours to the public today will be four smaller Naval ships at Pier 35: two Canadian ships and a pair of Coast Guard vessels.

"We're here to show the good side of the military," Cpl. Jarrett Johnson of Millbrae said as he and four other white-capped Marines strolled up the Embarcadero in search of something to eat. "We're not all about fighting wars."

Since Wednesday, Marines and Navy sailors from the Makin Island have been planting trees in Golden Gate Park and visiting kids Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. But the many visitors who did come to see the tools of war were not disappointed.

"I liked seeing how heavy the guns are," 10-year-old Jack O'Hearn of Millbrae said as he exited the ship. "They look light in the movies, but they are not light. The 50 (caliber) is like 80 pounds."

Parents snapped photos of their children standing on tanks and climbing into Hummer-like amphibious assault vehicles aboard the ship's main deck.

Lt. Col. David Mayhan of Foster City brought his family up to get a look at the machinery he rarely gets to see as a Marine reservist stationed in San Bruno.

His 8-year-old daughter Megan peered into a high-tech sardine can that swims at a speed of 6 knots or travels on land with two dozen Marines wedged inside for hours at a time, knees interlocked, en route to combat.

After having a look, Megan decided she'd rather be a kindergarten teacher than a Marine.

"It smells weird, like oil," she said. "And it's dark."

The ship itself, commissioned last October, is the Toyota Prius of the Naval fleet. It's a hybrid gas turbine and diesel electric vessel designed to conserve fuel. Stationed in San Diego, it houses more than 1,100 sailors and 650 Marines, and holds 600 hospital beds.

A similar ship is in Pakistan helping flood victims, and another was in Haiti after the earthquake.

Melissa Kohlmeister of South San Francisco thought she was just going to see a big boat Saturday morning. Instead, she found herself sitting in the pilot's seat of one a dozen specialized helicopters on the ship's flight deck.

"The last time I was on a helicopter, I threw up," she said. "But this was great!"

North of the Bay Bridge, Fleet Week offered another show of military prowess. Spectators packed the hills of Pacific Heights and the flatlands of the Marina to view the Blue Angels and other air show acrobats.

"Holy cow!" 4-year-old Tommy Murphy said as he watched a flying plane flip upside down. "How did he do that?"

Tommy and his father, Sean Murphy, 32, landed a spot at the corner of Broadway and Fillmore streets, where they had no trouble viewing the show.

The problem was the sound.

Tommy, who had been waiting a week "to see the planes fly up high in the sky," held both hands firmly over his ears as the planes thundered overhead.

Standing next to the Murphys was Jennifer Johnson, 26, visiting from Portland, Ore.

Two fighter jets soared far above, so close in formation that their wings appeared to be touching.

"I'm not usually rah-rah military," Johnson said. "But it sure is impressive."